Lubrication of swivel heads



Sept. 6, 1938. G. T. MOO

LUBRICATION OF SWIVEL HEADS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 5, 1955 IINVENTOR. f%a/'a 7/?90410/6 Nqo BY ATTORNEYS.

LUBRICATION OF SWIVEL HEADS Filed April 5, 19 35 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 (Elar/a 738422523 20 flaw-WW A TTORNEYS.

Sept. 6, 1938. a. T. MOO

LUBRICATION OF SWIVEL HEADS Filed April- 5, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 3IIILIIIIII! IIIIIIII' IN VEN TOR. 'afiazz/ 77490 ab/e Moo A TTORNEYS.

BY WM Sept; 6, 1938. G. T. Moo 2,129,307

LUBRICATION OF SWIVEL HEADS Filed April 5, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 4-i-izlzsqq IN VEN T ATTORNEYS. v

Patented Sept. 6, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LUBRICATION OF SWIVELHEADS Application April 5, 1935, Serial No. 14,780

21 Claims.

This invention relates to the lubrication of driving mechanism containedwithin two relatively swivel members, the head members of which willswivel from a vertical to a horizontal posi- 5 tion with relation to thebody member; and the invention has for its object the provision of meanswhich will afford lubrication to the bearings of the drive mechanismregardless of the position of the swivel head or the adjustment whichthe same assumes.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a lubricating systemhaving a single source of supply which will be effective for lubrieatingall of the different bearing points regardless of the position of swiveladjustment of the head about a horizontal axis.

Another object of the invention is to provide a-forced feed lubricationto the several bearings of the drive mechanism and particularly to thetop bearing of the spindle in the head which has heretofore been verydiflicult to lubricate when the same is in its normal Vertical position,it being a further object of the invention to lubricate the top bearingregardless of the position of horizontal adjustment of the swivel headin which it is located.

a A more specific object of the invention is to provide a chamber or oilreservoir so shaped and arranged that regardless of the position whichthe same assumes by reason of the swivel adjustment of the parts, aportion of the lubricant in the reservoir will be located at asufficient height above the supply conduits to supply a head for forcingthe lubricant towards the desired parts.

Another object of the invention is to distribute lubricant to thebearings of the rotating parts whether the swivel head is swung to theright or to the left through 90 from a vertical to a horizontalposition.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certainnovel features of construction, as will be more fully described, andparticularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of an attachment for a milling machine;

Fig. 2 is a sectional View on substantially line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on substantially line 50 3-3 of Figure 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on substantially line 4-4 of Figure 1;

Fig. 5 is a view taken on line 5-5 of Figure 2, looking in the directionof arrow 5, which, being along a joint, is not in section;

.Fig. 6 is a view along line 5 looking in the direction of the arrow 6;

Fig. '7 is a section on line l'-'l of Figure 5, taken with the outercover wall in position on the head member and showing the cylindricalbore through which lubricant is introduced into the device, the plungerbeing shown at its lowermost position of its travel.

Fig. 8 is a section on an enlarged scale, taken on line 8-8 of Figure 6Fig. 9 is a sectional view on substantially line S-9 of Figure 10;

Fig. 10 is a sectional view through the controlling valve and adjacentportions of the ma chine taken on substantially a line passing throughthe center of the conduit in which the oil valve is located;

Fig. 11 is a view similar to Figure 6 showing the head as turned through90 with lubricant therein.

Some attachments to milling machines have a swivel mounting for the headto turn with reference to the body about a horizontal axis to disposethe tool indifferent positions of adjustment, and in order to lubricatethe bearings of the rotating parts, lubricating cups were provided forreceiving the lubricant which gravitates along a conduit towards therotatable parts or bearings when the head was in a vertical position;however, when the conduits were disposed horizontally, the lubricantwould not flow towards the bearings. Further, it has always beendifi'icult to lubricate the top spindle bearing in the head. In orderthat this difiiculty of lubrication may be overcome when the swivel headis turned through 90, I have arranged an oil reservoir so located thatthere will at all times be a head of oil above the feed conduitsregardless of the position of adjustment around the swivel axis, andthis head will cause the lubricant to feed to the top bearing andthrough the various conduits which are provided for that purpose to theother bearings, and by this means I also provide a single or a oneopening supply oiling system which may lead to all of the differentbearings and yet one which will function regardless of position ofadjustment of the head member. I have mentioned above an attachment to amilling machine; however, it is very apparent that this same inventionmay be applied wherever there is a swivel head mounted upon a body orframe portion, such as in a milling machine proper, grinding machine orvarious other locations which will become readily apparent to amechanic; and the following is a more detailed description of thepresent embodiment of this invention, illustrating the preferred meansby which these advantageous results are accomplished:

With reference to the drawings, I have shown an attachment for a millingmachine, although it will be understood that this invention may beapplied to other swivelly related members, if desired. The body portion|2 of the casing of the attachment is secured to the face of the millingmachine in any usual and suitable manner, such as by means of openingsl3 in a flange l4, and has a driving connection with the spindle |5shown in dotted lines in Figure 2. A boss l6 on the casing |2 swivellymounts a head member casing H, which casings contain the drivingmechanism of the attachment.

This driving mechanism consists of a horizontal shaft H! which issupported in a roller bearing l9 supported by the skeleton frame-workstructure projecting from the casing l2. At the opposite end, the shaftI8 is supported in a roller bearing 2| supported in the boss IS. A gear23 is suitably splined upon an enlarged end portion of the shaft I8 andsecured by threaded members 24, 25. This gear 23 meshes with and isdriven by a gear 21 having a hub portion 28 recessed at 29 to receivethe driving power from the milling machine spindle l5. A stub shaft 35has a reduced portion 3| suitably mounted in the bore 32 of the casingand held in this position by nut 33 engaging the threaded end thereof.Gear 21 is rotatably mounted upon a stub with roller bearings 34 betweenthe stub shaft and gear.

In the rotatable head IT a spindle 35 is suitably supported in rollerbearings 36 at its upper end and 37 at its other lower end, whichbearings are in turn supported in the casing H. The roller bearing 36 isprovided with a thrust collar 38 threaded onto the spindle 35. Theopposite hearing 31 is divided into two parts which have engagement withsuitable abutment surfaces 39 and 40 formed in the casing and held inthis position by a threaded collar 4| engaging threads on the spindle.Suitable dogs 42 and 43 are provided on the enlarged portion 44 of thespindle for driving connection to such working implements as aredesired. This spindle is driven by means of the bevel gear 45 splinedupon the shaft |8 meshing with the bevel gear 46 splined upon thespindle 35. The line of power transmission is thus through the two spurgears 21, 23, shaft l8, bevel gears 55 and 4B and spindle 35.

A difficulty has been experienced in lubricating the drive mechanism ofattachments when the swivel head is rotated through an arc of 90, and itis also difficult to lubricate the top bearing of the spindle in theswivel head even in vertical position. It has been usual for oil cups tobe provided on the head which may be separately filled so that the oilmay drain down through channels when the device is in one position,usually the vertical position, such as illustrated in Figure 1 of thedrawings. I have illustrated a lubricating arrangement which willoperate when in a vertical position by there being a head of lubricantor pressure formed by reason of its raised position to force the oilthrough lubricating passages to the top spindle bearing and also to theother bearings; and I have so arranged a reservoir of oil that eventhough the head be rotated 90 in either direction, a head of lubricantfor a limited period of time will still be furnished to afford flow tothe parts for which lubrication is desired. To accomplish this result,the end wall 52 of the head member is cored out to form with the coverwall 50 a reservoir 5| between these parts. The end wall 52 has itsperipheral portion 53 in a single plane with cored out portions 54inwardly therefrom. This portion 53 will abut against the peripheralportion 55 of the cover or wall 58, while the cored out portions 51 justinwardly from the edge 55 of this wall cooperates with the portion 54 sothat when these walls are brought together, a reservoir 5| ofsubstantial extent is formed which will contain oil in a desired amountspread out over a rather large area.

A column of lubricant is formed and fed to this reservoir 5| by means ofa cylindrical bore 58 which opens into the reservoir 5| through aconduit 59 at the lower end thereof. A plunger 68 forces the liquiddownwardly, this plunger being connected to cap 6| by a chain 62 so thatwhen the supply in the cylinder 58 is exhausted and it is desired toreplenish it, the plunger 59 may be drawn upwardly and out of thecylinder by the chain 62 for filling the cylinder 58, after which theplunger may again be replaced to exert pressure on the lubricant andforce the lubricant into the reservoir 5| when the swivel head is in anyposition that permits the weighted plunger to gravitate.

Discharge passages conduits 65, 6B, 61 and B8 are formed by grooving theportions ll] of the cover wall 55, which portions are in the same planeas the surface 55, which portions 10 abut against portions 1| of thewall 52 which are in the same plane as the surface 53 so that thegrooves mentioned form closed conduits for conducting oil or lubricantwhen the walls 50 and 52 are in contact. The conduit 65 is controlled bya valve 15 which may be operated by the handle 15 externally of thereservoir. The pressure on the oil in the reservoir 5|, transmitted fromthe plunger when the head is vertical, forces the oil through thisconduit 65, thence through a chamber H which is covered by a glass 18 topermit the oil to be observed flowing therethrough, thence through theconduit 66 and then into the conduits 61 and 68, which intersect at anangle in the shape of an inverted V both of which eventually supplylubricant to the same point.

Tracing the flow of the oil through the conduit 68, it is conveyed intoa conduit shown in Figure 4 and in dotted lines in Figure 2, thencethrough conduit 8| to the surface 82 and outer bearing surface of theboss l6 and more clearly shown in the sectional view illustrated inFigure 4, where it collects in the semi-annular groove 83 provided inthe boss or portion upon which the casing H is rotatably mounted forlubrication of this bearing surface; and from this groove the oil isconducted through the openings 85 and 85 to the roller bearing 2| andalso into conduits ill and 88 shown in dotted lines in Figure 2, inwhich view the conduits Bl and 88 are shown one behind the other, sincethey lie in the same plane, as shown in Fig. 1, and they are moreclearly illustrated in the section shown in Figure 3, from whence thelubricant is conducted to the roller bearing l9 through opening 89 andgrooves 90 to lubricate the bearing and also through openings 9| tolubricate gear 23.

The excess lubricant from the bearing 2| which emerges through openings85 and 86 is conducted through the conduit H14 thence into the reservoir)5 in casing l2 and then through conduit I65, I81, and I88 to therollers 34 on the stub shaft 30 and byc entrifugal force some of thelubricant may be conducted through the passage 92 to the intermeshingteeth of the gears 23 and 21.

There is also another and more important line of lubricant flow in thishead member. The casing or end wall 52 at its upper end is bored as atI00 provided with suitable bushing l0! having an opening I02 to controlthe flow of oil to directly supply the upper roller bearing 36 of thespindle 35 which continues through force feed when the spindle isvertical as well as at all other positions. The oil from this bearingwill drain on to the bevel gears 46 and 45 and will also be dischargedon to the roller bearings 31.

The swivel casing I! has a T-shaped slot Ho therein in which are lodgedbolts Ill provided With nuts H2, these being four in number and set upto hold the swivel head in desired rotative position. When it is desiredto turn this casing, say through 90, the bolts are loosened, the casingswung on its bearing surface 82 to its new positionand then the nuts H2are tightened or secured. When in this new position, which is indicatedin Figure 11, the weight or head of the oil in the cylinder 58 is nolonger effective, but there will be a head or sufiicient quantity of oilin the reservoir 5! above the discharge conduit 66 to force thelubricant through the conduit thence through 66 and out through thelubricating conduit 95 similar and parallel to the conduit 86 to thegroove 83, and this will continue so long as there is any oil locatedabove the conduit 66. If, however, the casing be swung through 90 in theother direction, the mass of oil will now be above the conduit 66 on theother side and will feed through the conduits 68 and in a similar mannerto distribute lubricant to all of the parts. In this case, however, theoil will not feed quite as long as when tilted to the position shown inFigure 11, as in this case the entrance to the conduit 65 is slightlyhigher.

In practice, as the oil is constantly fed, it is found to ooze out aboutthe bearings, therefore if the machine is to be left for any length oftime, say for inoperation overnight, it is desired that supply of oil beshut off, and accordingly, the valve 75 is turned by the handle 76' toeffect this result. In order that the operator of the machine mayascertain that the lubricating apparatus is filled and the oil isflowing, the sight opening [811 is provided at the apex of said invertedV intersection of said conduits 61 and 68 at their point of juncturewith the conduit 66, through which the flow of oil is visible.

The foregoing description is directed solely towards the constructionillustrated, but I desire it to be understood that I reserve theprivilege of resorting to all the mechanical changes to which the deviceis susceptible, the invention being defined and limited only by theterms of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a mechanism of the character described, two swivelly relatedmembers, driving means for a work implement, bearings for said means insaid members, said driving means being operable regardless of therelative rotative position of said members, means carried by one of saidswivel members and providing a single lubricant supply source forsupplying lubricant to said bearings regardless of the relative rotativeposition of said members, and means within one of said members connectedto the supply means and actuated by gravity when said swivel member isadjusted in a position affording such action to force lubri- .arelatively fixed body member, a

cant from said supply source under pressure to said bearings. I

2. In a mechanism of the character described, two swivelly relatedmembers, driving means for a work implement, bearings for said means insaid members, said driving means being operable regardless of therelative rotative positions of said members, lubricant conduits in bothof said members leading to the bearings for said driving meeans, asingle reservoir having only one discharge passage, distributingpassages leading from said discharge passage and arranged in a pluralityof different directions with relation to the pivotal axis of saidmembers for supplying lubricant to said conduits regardless of therotative position of the rotated member.

3. In a mechanism of the character described, two swivelly relatedmembers, driving means for a work implement, bearings for said means insaid members, said driving means being operable regardless of therelative rotative positions of said members, a lubricant column movablewith and located in one of said members, a lubricant reservoir carriedby the same swivel member and fed by said column, and a pair ofdischarge conduits from said reservoir to all of said bearings, saidconduits being connected to the reservoir at a point thereor wherebyboth of said conduits receive lubricant therefrom when said column isadjusted in substantially a vertical position but in which only one ofthe conduits is at a level for supplying lubricant from the reservoirwhen the swivel member carrying the latter is rotated through in eitherdirection from the vertical.

4. In a mechanism of the character described,

two members swivelly related through a bearing between them, drivingmeans for a work implement, bearings for said means in said members,said driving means being operable regardless of the relative rotativepositions of said members, a lubricant column in one of said: members, alubricant reservoir carried by the same swivel member and fed by saidcolumn and conduits in both of said members from said reservoir throughthe I swivel bearing connection between said members to all of saidbearings.

5. In a mechanism of the character described, head member relativelyrotatably mounted thereon, operating mechanism in said members, alubricant reservoir carried by said head member, diverging conduitswithin and extending diagonally across said reservoir from a singledischarge passage thereof, said conduits each connecting with otherconduits within said members to supply said mechanism with lubricant.

6. In a mechanism. of the character described, a relatively fixed bodymember, ahead member relatively rotatably mounted thereon, operatingmechanism in said members, a lubricant reservoir carried by said headmember, and a pair of conduits in said reservoir which intersect at anangle toform an inverted V and each connecting with other conduitsleading to said mechanism, said conduits being so arranged that both areconnected to feed lubricant from the reservoir when the head is verticalbut when the head is rotated through 90, in either direction from thevertical, only one of said conduits acts to receive and conduct thelubricant.

'7. In a mechanism of the character described, a relatively fixed bodymember, a head member relatively rotatably mounted thereon, operatingmechanism in said members, a. reservoir for lubricant in said. headmember, conduits. within said head member leading from the reservoir tosaid mechanism, a column of lubricant for supplying said reservoir, anda weighted plunger on the top of said column of lubricant to applypressure thereto to force the lubricant into said reservoir and in turnto transmit pressure to the contents of said reservoir when the head isrotated in any adjustment that permits the weighted plunger togravitate.

8. In a mechanism of the character described, a relatively fixed bodymember, a head member relatively rotatably mounted thereon, operatingmechanism in said members, a lubricant reservoir carried by said headmember, a column of lubricant located in said head at the rear of saidreservoir for supplying lubricant thereto under pressure, movablepressure means in said head for applying pressure to the top of saidlubricant column, a main discharge conduit leading from said reservoir,branch distributing conduits leading from said main conduit, and meansin said main conduit for controlling the flow of lubricant therein inall positions of adjustment of said head member.

9. In a mechanism of the character described, a relatively fixed bodymember, a head member relatively rotatably mounted thereon, a spindlenormally vertically disposed in said head member and provided with anupper and lower bearing, a lubricant reservoir within the head member,and gravity means for providing a continuous flow of lubricant to theupper spindle bearing regardless of the relative rotative position ofsaid members.

10. In a mechanism of the. character described, a relatively fixed bodymember, a head member relatively rotatably mounted thereon, a spindle,normally vertically disposed in said head member and provided with anupper and lower bearing, a lubricant reservoir in said head, and aconduit from said reservoir to said upper bearing, said reservoir beingdisposed on opposite sides of said conduit to supply lubricant theretoafter the head is rotated through 11. In a mechanism of the characterdescribed, the combination of a relatively fixed body member, a headmember relatively rotatably mounted thereon, operating mechanism in saidmembers for driving a work implement, a reservoir for lubricant in saidhead member, lubricant conduits connecting said reservoir with saidmechanism, a column of lubricant for supplying said reservoir, and meansfor applying pressure to said lubricant column to force the liquidthereof into said reservoir and in turn to transmit pressure to theliquid contents in said reservoir, when the head is in an adjustedposition, whereby the transmission of pressure to the lubricant columnby said means is caused by the action of gravity, to force the reservoirliquid into said conduits.

12. In a mechanism of the character described,

the combination of a relatively fixed body member, a head memberrelatively rotatably mounted thereon, operating mechanism in saidmembers for driving a work implement, a reservoir for lubricant in saidhead member, lubricant conduits connecting said reservoir with saidmechanism, a column of lubricant for supplying said reservoir, and meanswholly within the head member for applying pressure to said lubricantcolumn to force the liquid thereof into said reservoir and in turn totransmit pressure to the liquid contents in said reservoir, when thehead is in an adjusted position, whereby the transmission of pressure tothe lubricant column by said means is caused by the action of gravity,to force the reservoir liquid into said conduits.

13. Inv a mechanism of the character described, the combination of arelatively fixed body member, a head member relatively rotatably mountedthereon, operating mechanism in said members for driving a workimplement, a reservoir for lubricant in said head member, lubricantconduits connecting said reservoir with said mechanism, a column oflubricant forsupplying said reservoir, and movable pressure meansactuated by gravity when the head is adjusted in a selected position forcausing such action to supply lubricant from said. column to thereservoir under pressure and to cause a fiow of lubricant out of thereservoir through said conduits to said mechanism.

14. In a mechanism of the character described, the combination of arelatively fixed body member, a head member relatively rotatably mountedthereon, operating mechanism in said members for driving a workimplement, a reservoir for lubricant in said head member, lubricantconduits connecting said reservoir with said mechanism, a column oflubricant for supplying said reservoir, and movable pressure meansactuated by gravity when the head is adjusted in a selected position forcausing such action to supply lubricant from said column to thereservoir under pressure and to cause a flow of lubricant out of thereservoir through said conduits to said mechanism, said lubricantconduits being of such a character and leading from the reservoir atsuch a point thereof that a flow of lubricant to said mechanism iscaused solely by gravitating from said reservoir when the position ofsaid adjustable head is such as to render said movable pressure meansinactive.

15. In a mechanism of the character described, the combination of a pairof swivelly related members, operating mechanism for a work implement insaid members and provided with an upper and lower bearing, a lubricantreservoir in one of said members, and a conduit from said reservoir tosaid upper bearing, said reservoir being disposed on opposite sides ofsaid conduit to supply lubricant thereto after the head is rotatedthrough 90.

16. In a mechanism of the character described, the combination of a pairof swivelly related members, driving mechanism for a work implement insaid members, a reservoir for lubricant in one of said members, and alubricant discharge conduit leading from said reservoir for conveyinglubricant to said mechanism, said reservoir being thin in the directionof the pivotal axis and generally broad in a cross-wise directionthereof and so constructed and arranged that an upright layerlike bodyof lubricant is provided above the said discharge conduit from saidreservoir when the lubricant occupies a substantial portion of thereservoir and the reservoir containing member is swivelled from thevertical to some desired angular position relative thereto.

17. In a mechanism of the character described, the combination of a pairof swivelly related members, driving mechanism for a work implement insaid members, a reservoir for lubricant in one of said members, a.lubricant discharge conduit leading from said reservoir for conveyinglubricant to said mechanism, said reservoir being thin. in the directionof the pivotal axis and generally broad in a cross-wise directionthereof and so constructed and arranged that an upright layerlike bodyof lubricant is provided above the said discharge conduit from saidreservoir when the lubricant occupies a substantial portion of thereservoir and the reservoir containing member is swivelled from thevertical to some desired angular position relative thereto, and means tosupply lubricant to said reservoir.

18. In a mechanism of the character described, the combination of a pairof swivelly related members, driving mechanism for a work implement insaid members, a reservoir for lubricant in one of said members, alubricant discharge conduit leading from said reservoir for conveyinglubricant to said mechanism, said reservoir being thin in the directionof the pivotal axis and generally broad in a cross-wise directionthereof and so constructed and arranged that an upright layer-like bodyof lubricant is provided above the said discharge conduit from saidreservoir when the lubricant occupies a substantial portion of thereservoir and the reservoir containing member is swivelled from thevertical to some desired angular position relative thereto, and means tomaintain the lubricant supply in said reservoir at a feeding level whenthe reservoir containing member is in vertical position.

19. In a mechanism of the character described, two swivelly relatedmembers, driving means for a work implement, bearings for said means insaid members, said driving means being operable regardless of therelative rotative positions of adjustment of said swivel members,lubricant conduits leading to the bearings for said driving means, areservoir formed in the movable swivel member for supplying lubricant tosaid conduits when said swivel members are in the different positions ofadjustment, said reservoir being located forwardly of said driving meam,and movable pressure means actuated by gravity when the reservoircarrying member is in certain adjusted positions for causing such actionto supply lubricant from an independent source of supply to thereservoir under pressure.

20. In a mechanism of the character described, two swivelly relatedmembers one of which is movable to selected positions of adjustmentrelative to a vertical plane, driving means for a work implement,bearings for said means in said members, said driving means beingoperable regardless of the relative rotative positions of adjustment ofsaid swivel members, lubricant conduits leading to the bearings for saiddriving means, a single reservoir carried by and formed in theadjustable swivel member and positionable therewith for supplyinglubricant to said conduits when said swivel members are in the difierentpositions of adjustment, and movable pressure means actuated by gravitywhen the reservoir carrying member is in certain adjusted positions forcausing such action to supply lubricant from an independent source ofsupply to the reservoir under pressure and to cause a flow of lubricantfrom the reservoir through said conduits to the driving means.

21. In a mechanism of the character described, a relatively fixed body,member, a head member rotatably mounted thereon and adapted to bepositioned in selected adjusted positions, operating mechanism in saidmembers including a spindle in the head member for driving a workimplement, said spindle being arranged to turn with said head member andto be angularly positioned thereby in adjusted positions from thevertical, a lubricant reservoir in said head member and positionabletherewith to the different adjusted positions of said head, and conduitsleading from a pair of spaced portions of said reservoir to saidoperating mechanism, said spaced portions having channels connected withsaid reservoir and being at opposite sides of a vertical planecontaining the rotative aixs of said head member and coincident with themedian plane of the reservoir when the axis of said spindle for the workimplement is in a vertical position, whereby When the reservoir isrotated through 90 one of said portions will be positioned in the lowerpart of the reservoir to be supplied with lubricant in said reservoir.

\ GO'IHARD T. M00.

